The Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations (FRFG) and the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) award the Demography Prize, endowed with €10,000, to essayists who address political and demographic themes relevant to the field of intergenerational justice. The prize was initiated and is funded by the Stiftung Apfelbaum. Through the prize, FRFG and IF aim to promote a discussion of intergenerational justice in society, and, by providing a scientific basis to the debate,
establish new perspectives for decision-makers. The call for papers is intended to target young scholars of different disciplines. Entries should range from 20 to 40 pages in length.

For 2012/2013 entries, the awarding consortium called for papers on the following topic:

“Youth Quotas - The Answer to Changes in Age Demographics?”

The following text will provide some first ideas for a submission:

Demographic change in many developed and developing countries means an ageing population. In the UK in 2050, government statisticians predict that there will be 2.5 times as many people aged 85 and over as there are today. The number of people aged between 16 and 64 is predicted to fall from 65 per cent to 59 per cent. Similar trends have been observed throughout Europe.

An ageing population has a number of significant intergenerational implications for voter power and political representation. Is it possible that youth will find it increasingly difficult to exercise power through the ballot box? Will our democracies become gerontocracies?

One way to counterbalance the trend and ensure the young do not become sidelined could be the introduction of youth quotas.

Although submissions can treat both, there is a difference between “youth quotas” and “youth representation in decision-making”. While the first stipulates that a certain percentage of young people must be included in a panel or body, the second generally prescribes one seat for young people. Above all, the latter applies to committees, panels and bodies in which all societal groups are represented.

Almost nothing about youth quotas can be found on Wikipedia or by searching the web with Google. It appears to be a brand new topic: this means that addressing it could be very innovative, or is the fact that almost nobody has promoted it a sign of its irrelevance?

Many interdisciplinary questions are raised in the context of the youth quotas debate: for political scientists it may be interesting to examine whether democratic principles would be violated when young representatives are voted into a parliament, even if they are clearly less popular than their older opponents. And would quota regulation ensure that young people have sufficient power to influence political decision-making?

From a legal point of view it should be considered whether the implementation of youth quotas is consistent with national and European legal principles. Are there any examples from, for example, the implementation of quotas for women and ethnic groups that demonstrate the potential legal challenges of implementing youth quotas?

With regards to philosophyit might be interesting to investigate whether it is necessary for parliaments to reflect the demographic make-up of societies to be just. Is the implementation of youth quotas a fair method to ensure that young people are represented?

Finally, sociologists could examine and regard youth quotas in the context of the controversial subject of “affirmative action”. This policy may address the problem statistically, but would young people in powerful societal positions be taken seriously? Could the promotion of youth quotas initiate an important societal change that benefits and empowers young people?

The promotion of youth quotas and youth representation in decision-making could initiate an important societal change. As organisations whose mission is to promote justice and fairness between generations, IF and FRFG would like to generate a fruitful debate in this area, with a focus on the empowerment of young people in politics and society.

Bengtson, Vern L. (1993): “Is the ‘Contract Across Generations’
Changing? Effects of Population Aging on Obligations and Expectations
Across Age Groups”, in: Vern L. Bengtson and W. Andrew Achenbaum (eds): The Changing Contract Across Generations. New York: de Gruyter, pp. 3-24.

Binstock, Robert H., and J. Quadagno (eds) (2001): “Aging and
politics”, in: “Older people and voting participation: Past and future”,
in: Robert H. Binstock and Linda K. George (eds): Handbook of aging and the social sciences, 5th edn. San Diego: Academic Press, pp.333-51.